March 29, 2014

Canada: Follow-up on the Saskatoon hemorrhagic fever case

A Saskatoon man in critical condition with a serious, unidentified illness was no risk-taker when travelling to developing countries, his business partner says.

Geologist and engineer Rod Ogilvie would always take antimalarial drugs and use insect repellent when travelling to countries where disease was prevalent, said George Sharpe of Regina, chief geologist with Global Geological Services Ltd.

“He just got unlucky this time,” Sharpe said.

Early Tuesday, lab tests at the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg ruled out the four most dangerous viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) caused by the Ebola, Lassa, Crimean-Congo and Marburg viruses in Ogilvie’s case. The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a written statement the country has never had a confirmed case of any hemorrhagic virus, such as Ebola.

With those four diseases ruled out, the potential risk to any members of the public who came into contact with Ogilvie are reduced significantly, the federal agency said.

Other possible ailments include malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, pneumonia, meningitis, and other infections. It will be Friday at the earliest before test results are available, and if the diagnosis doesn’t present a public health hazard, medical health officers may not share that diagnosis publicly.

Not all hemorrhagic illnesses have been ruled out — just the four most serious ones.

Ogilvie is in isolation at St. Paul’s Hospital, breathing through a tube. Family members are now allowed in the sick man’s room wearing gowns and gloves, but they weren’t before the four most serious VHFs were ruled out, Werker said.

Ogilvie returned from Liberia on March 9, and fell ill March 20. His condition deteriorated rapidly that Thursday, and when paramedics came to fetch him, someone mentioned he had recently returned from Liberia, which allowed paramedics to take precautions, Werker said. They also called ahead to the hospital so staff could prepare for a potentially infectious and exotic disease.

A March 28 report on the case in the Regina Leader-Post quotes a Ministry of Health statement released on Friday:

"Under the Public Health Act, the ministry and Regional Health Authority have no authority to release personal health information for a condition that does not pose a risk to the health of the public.

"The family has also expressed its wish that no personal health information be released."

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A Saskatoon man in critical condition with a serious, unidentified illness was no risk-taker when travelling to developing countries, his business partner says.

Geologist and engineer Rod Ogilvie would always take antimalarial drugs and use insect repellent when travelling to countries where disease was prevalent, said George Sharpe of Regina, chief geologist with Global Geological Services Ltd.

“He just got unlucky this time,” Sharpe said.

Early Tuesday, lab tests at the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg ruled out the four most dangerous viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) caused by the Ebola, Lassa, Crimean-Congo and Marburg viruses in Ogilvie’s case. The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a written statement the country has never had a confirmed case of any hemorrhagic virus, such as Ebola.

With those four diseases ruled out, the potential risk to any members of the public who came into contact with Ogilvie are reduced significantly, the federal agency said.

Other possible ailments include malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, pneumonia, meningitis, and other infections. It will be Friday at the earliest before test results are available, and if the diagnosis doesn’t present a public health hazard, medical health officers may not share that diagnosis publicly.

Not all hemorrhagic illnesses have been ruled out — just the four most serious ones.

Ogilvie is in isolation at St. Paul’s Hospital, breathing through a tube. Family members are now allowed in the sick man’s room wearing gowns and gloves, but they weren’t before the four most serious VHFs were ruled out, Werker said.

Ogilvie returned from Liberia on March 9, and fell ill March 20. His condition deteriorated rapidly that Thursday, and when paramedics came to fetch him, someone mentioned he had recently returned from Liberia, which allowed paramedics to take precautions, Werker said. They also called ahead to the hospital so staff could prepare for a potentially infectious and exotic disease.

A March 28 report on the case in the Regina Leader-Post quotes a Ministry of Health statement released on Friday:

"Under the Public Health Act, the ministry and Regional Health Authority have no authority to release personal health information for a condition that does not pose a risk to the health of the public.

"The family has also expressed its wish that no personal health information be released."